A area of land located in the south of Israel, consisting of little vegetation and with very little annual rainfall; inhabited by numerous peoples, initially by the Canaanites in Arad and the Amalekites, and later, the people of Judah.
About Negev
Southernmost region of Palestine. The name comes from the root “to be dry, parched,” although its basic meaning is “south country, south.” It is an area with no precise geographical boundaries. From north to south, the Negev covers the area between Beersheba and Kadesh-barnea. From west to east it extends from near the Mediterranean to the Arabah, a distance of some 70 miles (112.6 kilometers).
This is an arid section of the country, with infrequent and limited rainfall. With limited water resources, there was restricted opportunity for agriculture, although in the northern area some grain farming was done on a small scale, with possibly one crop failure every three years. A pastoral economy existed based primarily on the raising of sheep, goats, and camels. Simeon received this territory, including the cities, such as Arad and Rehoboth, in the tribal division of the Promised Land. Later, Judah absorbed this tribe. During the monarchy, the Israelites pushed into the Negev. During the reigns of Solomon and Jehoshaphat, there was commercial traffic to and from the port of Ezion-geber on the Gulf of Aqaba. In Greco-Roman times the Nabateans inhabited the Negev. Through careful preservation of rainwater, they developed limited agriculture and sustained a number of towns. During NT times the Idumeans controlled the Negev.
Key References
Now Isaac had just returned from Beer-lahai-roi, for he was living in the Negev.
So Joshua conquered the whole region—the hill country, the Negev, the foothills, and the slopes, together with all their kings—leaving no survivors. He devoted to destruction everything that breathed, just as the LORD, the God of Israel, had commanded.
Now Abraham journeyed from there to the region of the Negev and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he was staying in Gerar,
When the Canaanite king of Arad, who lived in the Negev, heard that Israel was coming along the road to Atharim, he attacked Israel and captured some prisoners.
the hill country, the foothills, the Arabah, the slopes, the wilderness, and the Negev—the lands of the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites):
The Amalekites live in the land of the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live by the sea and along the Jordan.”
All Scripture References (44)
Genesis (6)
And Abram journeyed on toward the Negev.
So Abram went up out of Egypt into the Negev—he and his wife and all his possessions—and Lot was with him.
From the Negev he journeyed from place to place toward Bethel, until he came to the place between Bethel and Ai where his tent had formerly been pitched,
Now Abraham journeyed from there to the region of the Negev and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he was staying in Gerar,
Now Isaac had just returned from Beer-lahai-roi, for he was living in the Negev.
After Abraham’s death, God blessed his son Isaac, who lived near Beer-lahai-roi.
Numbers (5)
When Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, he told them, “Go up through the Negev and into the hill country.
They went up through the Negev and came to Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, dwelled. It had been built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.
The Amalekites live in the land of the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live by the sea and along the Jordan.”
When the Canaanite king of Arad, who lived in the Negev, heard that Israel was coming along the road to Atharim, he attacked Israel and captured some prisoners.
Now the Canaanite king of Arad, who lived in the Negev in the land of Canaan, heard that the Israelites were coming.
Deuteronomy (2)
Resume your journey and go to the hill country of the Amorites; go to all the neighboring peoples in the Arabah, in the hill country, in the foothills, in the Negev, and along the seacoast to the land of the Canaanites and to Lebanon, as far as the great River Euphrates.
the Negev, and the region from the Valley of Jericho (the City of Palms) all the way to Zoar.
Joshua (8)
Your territory shall extend from the wilderness and Lebanon to the great River Euphrates—all the land of the Hittites—and west as far as the Great Sea.
So Joshua conquered the whole region—the hill country, the Negev, the foothills, and the slopes, together with all their kings—leaving no survivors. He devoted to destruction everything that breathed, just as the LORD, the God of Israel, had commanded.
So Joshua took this entire region: the hill country, all the Negev, all the land of Goshen, the western foothills, the Arabah, and the mountains of Israel and their foothills,
the hill country, the foothills, the Arabah, the slopes, the wilderness, and the Negev—the lands of the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites):
Now the allotment for the clans of the tribe of Judah extended to the border of Edom, to the Wilderness of Zin at the extreme southern boundary:
“Give me a blessing,” she answered. “Since you have given me land in the Negev, give me springs of water as well.” So Caleb gave her both the upper and lower springs.
These were the southernmost cities of the tribe of Judah in the Negev toward the border of Edom: Kabzeel, Eder, Jagur,
and all the villages surrounding these cities as far as Baalath-beer (Ramah of the Negev). This was the inheritance of the clans of the tribe of Simeon.
Judges (3)
Afterward, the men of Judah marched down to fight against the Canaanites living in the hill country, in the Negev, and in the foothills.
“Give me a blessing,” she answered. “Since you have given me land in the Negev, give me springs of water as well.” So Caleb gave her both the upper and lower springs.
Now the descendants of Moses’ father-in-law, the Kenite, went up with the men of Judah from the City of Palms to the Wilderness of Judah in the Negev near Arad. They went to live among the people.
1 Samuel (4)
who would ask him, “What have you raided today?” And David would reply, “The Negev of Judah,” or “The Negev of Jerahmeel,” or “The Negev of the Kenites.”
On the third day David and his men arrived in Ziklag, and the Amalekites had raided the Negev, attacked Ziklag, and burned it down.
We raided the Negev of the Cherethites, the territory of Judah, and the Negev of Caleb, and we burned down Ziklag.”
He sent gifts to those in Bethel, Ramoth Negev, and Jattir;
2 Samuel (1)
They went toward the fortress of Tyre and all the cities of the Hivites and Canaanites. Finally, they went on to the Negev of Judah, to Beersheba.
2 Chronicles (1)
The Philistines had also raided the cities of the foothills and the Negev of Judah, capturing and occupying Beth-shemesh, Aijalon, and Gederoth, as well as Soco, Timnah, and Gimzo with their villages.
Psalms (1)
Restore our captives, O LORD, like streams in the Negev.
Isaiah (2)
This is the burden against the Desert by the Sea: Like whirlwinds sweeping through the Negev, an invader comes from the desert, from a land of terror.
This is the burden against the beasts of the Negev: Through a land of hardship and distress, of lioness and lion, of viper and flying serpent, they carry their wealth on the backs of donkeys and their treasures on the humps of camels, to a people of no profit to them.
Jeremiah (4)
The cities of the Negev have been shut tight, and no one can open them. All Judah has been carried into exile, wholly taken captive.
And people will come from the cities of Judah and the places around Jerusalem, from the land of Benjamin, and from the foothills, the hill country, and the Negev, bringing burnt offerings and sacrifices, grain offerings and frankincense, and thank offerings to the house of the LORD.
Fields will be purchased with silver, and deeds will be signed, sealed, and witnessed in the land of Benjamin, in the areas surrounding Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah—the cities of the hill country, the foothills, and the Negev—because I will restore them from captivity, declares the LORD.”
In the cities of the hill country, the foothills, and the Negev, in the land of Benjamin and the cities surrounding Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, the flocks will again pass under the hands of the one who counts them, says the LORD.
Ezekiel (4)
“Son of man, set your face against Jerusalem and preach against the sanctuaries. Prophesy against the land of Israel
and tell her that this is what the LORD says: ‘I am against you, and I will draw My sword from its sheath and cut off from you both the righteous and the wicked.
On the south side it will run from Tamar to the waters of Meribath-kadesh, and along the Brook of Egypt to the Great Sea. This will be the southern boundary.
The southern border of Gad will run from Tamar to the waters of Meribath-kadesh, then along the Brook of Egypt and out to the Great Sea.
Obadiah (2)
Those from the Negev will possess the mountains of Esau; those from the foothills will possess the land of the Philistines. They will occupy the fields of Ephraim and Samaria, and Benjamin will possess Gilead.
And the exiles of this host of the Israelites will possess the land of the Canaanites as far as Zarephath; and the exiles from Jerusalem who are in Sepharad will possess the cities of the Negev.
Zechariah (1)
Are these not the words that the LORD proclaimed through the earlier prophets, when Jerusalem and its surrounding towns were populous and prosperous, and the Negev and the foothills were inhabited?’”